Broadcast - 10 April 2022
A lot to cover this week, but first up we welcome a new call sign to the airwaves, Rob VK7FUJ, if you hear the call sign, break the ice, say “hi” and make him feel welcome.
The following item is courtesy of Alan VK7BO who reports:
The results of the 2022 RSGB Commonwealth Contest (BERU) were announced on Thursday morning.
Australia Team 1 were once again the winners in the Team section.
Keen competition from ZL, VE and UK stations.
Congratulations to NTARC member Alan VK7BO who was operating in Team 1, a good effort indeed.
As promised, an update on last weekend’s Equine Ride held at St. Helens, so over to Roger VK7ARN;
“NTARC, assisted by a contingent from WICEN (South), provided rider tracking and safety communications for a new equine endurance event, based out of the St Helens Equestrian Grounds, run by the Suncoast Pony and Riding Club under the Portland Endurance Riders banner. The track included part of the 2011 State Championship course which, as a lead up event to the 2012 Tom Quilty Cup, was familiar to those assisting at those events.
At St Helens this time were, from NTARC, Idris VK7ZIR, Stefan VK7ZSB, Andre’ VK7ZAB, Peter VK7SP, Peter VK7KPC, Roger VK7ARN and from WICEN, Justin VK7TW, Anthony VK7AG and Randall VK7VWK.
All were in St Helens over Friday and Saturday night, split between the toughies camping at the ride Base and the softies at more salubrious accommodations in town. The whole group dined on both evenings at a St Helens eatery and were supplied by the ride organisers with egg and bacon sandwiches for early breakfast on Saturday morning.
There were three rides, sharing parts of the one track. The 20 km riders went part way and then turned back. The 40 km did one loop of the 40 km long track, whilst the 80km riders did two loops of the same track. It’s often difficult for ride organisers to find tracks with an optimum of surfaces and outlooks, but the consensus was that this one well ‘fitted the bill’, with a combination of open paddocks, a quiet country road and a great stretch of forest tracks.
Although there were only three physical checkpoints, multiple passes resulted in seventeen checkpoints in all. Communications were good, though the most distant checkpoint experienced some issues during the final survey.
All crews departed St Helens for home at various times on Sunday morning. The main NTARC group towing the safety communications trailer.”
Thank you Roger for the update. I must add a big thank you to Roger on behalf of the crew for his excellent organisational and mapping skills in preparation of Repeater and Checkpoint locations down to predicted signal strengths from terrain and path profile calculations. This at least allows us to be prepared for what we might encounter on sites that have not been used before. A lot of work that saves a lot of stress on the day!
Roger’s full blog story, more information and pictures can be found on the NTARC website, under the menu item “Blogs”.
Now over to Idris VK7ZIR to bring you up to speed on the happenings at last Wednesday club Tech night;
“A good turnout tonight with much to be learned!
Peter VK7KPC was working on some ex-military equipment, why do I not find this strange, HiHi. He was analysing an antenna string consisting of a “Rejecter Unit VHF Number 3” connected to an externally mounted vehicle coupling unit with antenna.
With a YouKit analyser replacing the usual Larkspur B-47 transmitter, it was real time sweeping and showing the pass band changes as the Rejecter unit was adjusted. From results obtained Peter is going to try using the Rejecter to provide enough isolation between transmit and receive for a six metre repeater trial. Good luck Peter. Stay tuned for an update.
Next we had a presentation from Lionel VK7LB. Lionel is a vacuum tube aficionado par excellence and has an extensive collection. From the UK perspective they are valves, from the other side of the Atlantic in the US, they are tubes. I have always known them as valves, so I will continue as such.
Lionel had brought along a selection of small valves from his vast collection to show us and concentrated his presentation on valve miniaturisation.
What followed was a fascinating talk covering the evolution of hearing aids, also called deaf aids in the US. Initially electronic hearing aids were cumbersome units which were in several parts worn on the body. With the requirement for miniaturisation the pressure was on for smaller and smaller valves to be developed. Some of Lionel’s valves like the DF67 only measured 26mm long by 7.8mm diameter and operated with a 1.4 Volts filament drawing 10mA current. Valves continued to be dominant in this role for years after the construction of the first commercial transistors. Initially transistors were much larger and exhibited poorer performance characteristics when compared to valves.
Also in his collection are examples of miniature audio wire recorders, used extensively in areas such as clandestine recording, Dictaphones and aircraft Black Boxes. The miniature valves were a feature of these devices. The recorder he had brought along was a MiniFon Mi51 from the nineteen fifties and was in excellent condition with many accessories such as microphone and ear pieces. He also described all the different types of batteries used in these devices. His broad knowledge of his subject caused many questions and much discussion late into the evening. Thanks Lionel, we will look forward to more talks on other aspects of your collection.
If you are interested in wire recorders and allied equipment, there is a very good Russian website, the link for this is available in the text version of the broadcast. http://vintage-technics.ru/Eng-Minifon_Mi51.htm
That just about wrapped up the proceedings, so cheerio until next time.
73 from Idris VK7ZIR”
Thank you Idris for the summary of what was a truly enlightening presentation.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Club General Meeting – Wednesday 13th April. Held at the NTARC Club Room, Rocherlea Scout Hall, Archer Street, Rocherlea. At this point it will be the standard agenda. If you have items you would like added to the agenda please email the secretary at: ntarc.emails@gmail.com no later than Tuesday 12th April. The meeting will be followed by supper. Donations of cakes, slices etc. would be appreciated.
Club Tech night – Wednesday 20th April. Held at the NTARC Club rooms, 7.30pm until whenever.
Equine Endurance Event – Saturday 23rd / Sunday 24th of April. Held Wattlewood Park Sassafras.
The NTARC Safety Communications Team has been asked to provide safety comms.
The rides will be 160 km, 80 km and 40 km spread over a two day event. We will be providing Base Comms, checkpoints and RFID tracking of riders progress. If you are at a loose end, it is a pleasant 1 hour or so drive from Launceston. Drop in, have a chat and drink and see how the Safety Communications Team utilise voice and data skills to provide safety support.
TestNet and TechNet – Wednesday 27th April. TestNet/CW course on 3.580MHz from 7pm till 7.30pm….and a TechNet on 3.567MHz from 7.30pm till about 8.30pm. Your host for the evening will again be Nic VK7WW.
Coffee Morning – There will be no coffee morning next week, the 15th April as it falls within the Easter period.
FINALLY – A reminder to all members that if you have any items of news you would like added to our weekly roundup, no matter how trivial, then please email them to the Secretary at the following address news@ntarc.net all items to be received no later than 5pm on the Friday prior to the Broadcast.
That’s all folks from,
Stefan, VK7ZSB, Secretary NTARC inc.
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